You can find a lot of great images on the web, but most of them cost money. Granted, they are very professional looking and depending on your website will be well worth the money.

However, taking your own photos and uploading them gives you the dual benefit of owning the images at no cost, AND the ability to take images of exactly what you want the readers to see. This is especially needed if you are selling a product or need to display an image that cannot easily be found on the Internet. Taking your own photos takes the “temptation” of using photos from other websites!

What Camera to Use

I am no connoisseur of fine cameras, but most of the models out there are going to work for our general purposes. I would go to Best Buy and find the most expensive camera I can afford on my budget (which usually means what can I get away with before my wife starts having palpitations!)

The camera I was allowed to buy was a Canon PowerShot SX30 IS. We actually were going on vacation and when we pulled out our previous camera I found that we have replaced the rechargeable batteries with regular batteries and can you say RUINED! So we got in the car, found a Sears and purchased the camera, took it home, charged it up, and left on vacation the next day (to Mexico!!)

As you can see on the right, the pictures were great and if we had NO camera, this close encounter would be a long forgotten memory… and I would have had to go pay someone to share this image!

Remember that you CAN and SHOULD use all photos available to you. If you are a traveler, then peruse your previous travels and see if there are any photos that you can use for your website. You can get really creative and use them as abstract examples: I could add a caption above as “This is what happens when frogs don’t trademark there colors!” – and put this on my trademark blog (which would have been very creative, now that I think of it!)

More and more, websites are moving from textual to image based forms of communications (Pinterest is one of the largest growing social media sites because of this trend). Sites like this one are slowing going the way of the… iguana!

When using uploading an image to your website, always use Photoshop (or some other tool) to trim the size down. If you take photos at the highest level (which you should) they are going to be too large and will slow down your web pages.

Also, using Photoshop, you may be able to create a new logo or mascot for your website!

In-House Studio

What is an in-house studio? It is a setup where you can take photos of objects in the best possible lighting. If you go to a profession photographer, you will notice 2 primary tools that they use: a huge backdrop and powerful lights (that cast’s soft lighting on the objects from all angles).

Most people do not need this, but if you are in service or an industry that you tend to use the same object(s) over and over again, taking your own photos may be worthwhile, especially if you can setup specific scenes to integrate nicely into a website page or blog. And who knows. once you have build up a collection of unique images, you can upload them to one of the image sites and sell them as a another passive income stream!

Testimonials

I’ve worked with brandITsimply for well over 2 years. They created (and maintain) my website, newsletter, and marketing materials; that allows me to concentrate on what I know best – helping people!Dr. Miki L. FinninCEO/PharmacistMedication Advisors, PLLC

In addition to an amazing individual, Tom Joe possesses the professional and technical skills that are not only an asset to the companies that he has worked for, but also to any other individual that he comes in contact with. It would be incredible to work with him once again.Jeff JewettSAP Data Migration ConsultantBackoffice Associates

Worked with Tom Joe as a support analyst and Developer on Infinium S2K financial platform. During this engagement I have always admired his functional and technical expertise on the Financial Ledgers. His process leadership and collaborative work style are key qualities yielded greater results.Sachidanandhan VenkatakrishnanService Delivery ManagerCognizant Technology Solutions